At present, the axle assembly of a motor vehicle comprises, in most cases, and particularly for trucks, a set of components constituted by a bar which is rigid and solid and therefore very heavy, two journals or stub axles situated at the two ends of the bar and serving to support various components such as drums, brakes, etc., and means for providing connection with the ground, e.g. pneumatic tires mounted on wheel rims. Such axle assemblies also includes springs and shock absorbers connected in parallel between the bar and the vehicle chassis.
In contrast, for cars which are lighter, there exists means referred to by persons skilled in the art as "torsion bar axles", which are constituted, roughly speaking, by cranks, one per wheel. They are generally made of steel and are bulky and do not really give satisfaction.
The aim of the present invention is to mitigate some of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and in particular to provide axle assemblies for motor vehicles which are suitable both for light vehicles such as cars and for heavy vehicles such as trucks, earth moving equipment, or the like, regardless of their applications and/or purposes, and which are simultaneously lightweight, compact, and at least as effective as the above-described prior art type of axle assembly.